Commercial Operations Manager

African Originals Overview

At African Originals our mission is to produce carefully crafted and proudly African beverages to create local choice for the African Middleclass. We are an integrated business with an owned manufacturing set up, ownership of 3 brands (5.8, KO and AO) and ownership of our distribution in Kenya. We strive to do what the big companies can’t; be agile, nimble, get innovations to market quickly and since coming to market we have launched ciders, tonics, ice teas and gins. We are for entrepreneurs in-the-making who love and embody this same relentless spirit.

Roles and Responsibilities

1. Trade marketing strategy:

• Work with the head of commercial on a challenger strategy TM plan

• Own trade (customer), channel and Category strategies

• Develop fit for purpose Execution standards and Targets

• Be commercial lead in ensuring our liquid innovations are rolled out in the right locations with the right toolkits

• Manage the daily reporting of the innovations

• Work hand in hand with the special projects manager to maximise the successful execution & reporting of the liquid innovations

• Lead all innovation pilots on commercial marketing and present business cases and recommendations moving forward

2. Channel Segmentation & Strategy and Category Development:

• Define the channel segmentation the KO way

• Define execution standards to align with segmentation including merchandising and KOs picture of success

• Train the internal team to live, breathe and execute the segmentation

• Lead category, channel and Shopper Marketing

• Delivery of Annual category plan for total portfolio

• Use customer strategies/category insights/shopper insight to develop brilliant customer/consumer propositions

• Utilize insights into shopper behaviors and motivations to provide competitive solutions that ensure winning programs

3. Sales Tools: Merchandising and Point of Sale production:

• Define and execute a clear trade assets plan including freezers, Ice buckets, FSUs etc

• Procurement of sales materials in a timely manner to meet annual plan requirements

• Production of sales materials in a cost effective manner, while seeking final approval from Marketing Manager

• Implement tracking process for merchandising and point of sales material

• Manage the Point of Sale and trade assets Budget

• Develop brand visibility kits aligned to the channel segmentation

• Manage the tight implementation and execution of the kits in trade

• Stock management of all point of sale

• Develop new point of sale items to drive differentiation and cut through in trade

4. Sales Tracking and productivity:

• Develop and implement commercial scorecards focused on drivers of depletion, effectiveness of investments, performance of customers as well as brands

• In-charge of maintaining the activation and point of sale budget

• Daily, Weekly and monthly reporting to tracking performance of trade marketing activities

5.Brand Activations and Execution:

• Work with the brand team to Define the Picture of success by each of our trade channels Prestige/Platinum/Modern Trade/Gold

• Outline the mechanics of each activities including all visual guidelines

• Implement and Manage actual execution, Tracking and Measurement of all Trade programs

• Weekly planning, execution and ROI measurement of all activations across the country

• Create a process for outlet activation scheduling by sales managers via a live calendar

• Create an activations manual and implement training programs for brand ambassadors

• Manage the Trade Activations budget

• Recommend and implement optimization tactics to improve the impact and effectiveness of activations

• Define SMART key execution KPIs across the activation landscape

• Work with an audit partner to track and monitor compliance

• Define self-reporting guidelines for Execution KPIs

6. Events planning and execution :

• Work with brand and commercial teams to refresh the events strategy, toolkits and overall direction

• Manage the commercial agreements with our events partners

• Manage the events team

• Roll out events as per agreed framework as a key contributor to our topline growth and brand building plans

7. Capability:

• Bring to life the AO academy – currently designed to ensure everyone in the business is a distillation superstar with end to end product and brand knowledge- ensuring our brands are sold for their value and not their price

Skills & Qualifications

• Strong project management and everyday great execution skills

• 6+ years of experience in an operations role

• Experience working in the FMCG or Alco-Bev sector.

• Experience with on-trade and off-trade channels.

• Experience managing people

• Experience with category management and customer marketing is a plus.

• Strong communication skills with the ability to quickly build strong relationships.

Personality / Competencies

• Go-getter and relationship builder

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build strong relationships at all levels.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities, with a data-driven approach to decision-making.

• Exceptional organizational skills, with the ability to prioritize tasks, manage multiple projects, and meet deadlines.

• Strategic thinking and business acumen, with a deep understanding of organizational dynamics and industry trends.

• Demonstrated leadership and team management skills, with the ability to motivate and inspire others.

• Excellent planning and organization skills with a high ability to meet deadlines.

• Excellent data skills, comfortable with excel and able to solve complex problems.

• Discipline, passionate for executional excellence and commercial savvy.

- At African Originals, we believe that diversity and inclusion are crucial for fostering innovation and creating a thriving work environment. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all individuals regardless of their race, color, religion, sex,

national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws.